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JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the only unexpected aspect of Hearts' triumph over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was the extent to which taken aback observers seemed when news of the outcome and its impact for the summit of the table emerged. Although this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which puts the Edinburgh side top of the table and eight points clear of their rivals, was seismic in scale, nobody who has been following the progress of both squad this campaign will have been even remotely shocked by the result.

For each of the past four decades, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish league between them, reducing the beautiful game to almost a joke in the process. Nine games into the current season it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who number celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – could be prepared to make their move while the Glasgow duo influence is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

Although a lot of the focus in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being suffered by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the situation at Ibrox has meant that Celtic's slightly less terminal decay has been allowed to worsen unnoticed. The defending title winners have already lost a considerable number from their opening nine league games this season under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a individual who can't stop consulting his Google calendar to see how many time are left until his contract ends, and awoke this day to learn the answer is 246.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure at the club," he informed reporters following the defeat, after they had doubted his desire for any kind of a championship battle. "So the motivation is there to attempt to flip the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the horrific start to the campaign being endured by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his men could normally be expected to get away with their own failure to roar out of the traps, but on this occasion an capital city challenger has entered the mix. In spite of being obliged to operate with a war-chest that is not just a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have added the money and expertise of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership equation. In addition to investing £10m during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has granted Hearts sole use of his top secret analytics-based proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, a Greek talent and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to unearth hidden talents from an English lower-league side, the Slovak first division and the Norway's second division, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the total price of a mid-range family saloon. Seen at their home venue on Sunday wearing a club colours, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be seen celebrating each goal with the enthusiasm of a person who had likely noticed the bookies had greatly underestimated his side's chances of beating the out-of-sorts champions, and placed large bets as a result.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer Derek McInnes after his side's latest success, their eighth in nine outings. "It might be for those on the periphery. It might change opinions. It may confirm views that there's a fine line. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the lads have provided us. In terms of skill, we appear in a good place, and definitely physically we seem in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Of course, this is not a situation that this club is accustomed to being in." Correct, Derek, it is not. But the wonderful, data-driven truth is that for the initial occasion in ages, Scottish football might actually have a championship battle that somebody other than Celtic or Rangers can win.